"Le Mans" in Lucerne
04/30/2022
For once, the start was not 4 p.m. but 6 p.m. sharp, and not in France either, but at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. The destination was reached not after 24 hours, but after just five hours, when the film "Le Mans" by and starring Steve McQueen came to an end at the i-Max cinema on April 7, 2022. A film that had devoured many millions of dollars in 1971, but then found no favor at all in the cinemas. A total flop, as they say.
But today, 51 years later, it has to be said once again that this is an absolute work of art, especially if you enjoy the images more than the dialog or plot, because there is hardly any talking and the love story is a marginal phenomenon. The only thing shown is a fake documentary about a famous car race.
On the huge screen of the i-Max movie theater, however, the lush car-to-car shots look like icing on the cake. You could easily watch the duel between the two incredibly beautiful cars, the Porsche 917 and the Ferrari 512 , non-stop for 24 hours.
Enough raving, because after all, there were also celebrities on site. Walter Brun (pictured above, center) and Peter Mattli (left), who took part in the 1971 classic in a Porsche 907, were among them.
Walti: "When Dr. Helmut Marko overtook me for the first time in the 917K, I drove to the pits because I thought my engine was broken."
Peter Mattli: "Our car was doing a good 300 km/h, but Marko's Martini 917K was easily doing 400!"
The times were different 50 years ago, as the movie shows wonderfully. Brun: "Back then, it was quite normal for me not only to eat sausage and potato salad during my breaks from racing, but also to drink a real beer."
Neel Jani (pictured with the 1971 Le Mans winner, the Porsche 917K), who has been competing at Le Mans since 2009, said:
"Jacky Ickx once said to me: "You can't win Le Mans, Le Mans lets you win if it wants to!"
In 2016, I won after falling far behind, when we actually shouldn't or couldn't have won, but in 2017 I retired with engine damage (first Porsche engine failure in 5 years!) shortly before the end, when I had actually already won with my lead. That's Le Mans for you!"
Daniel, the son of Herbert Müller, better known in Switzerland as "Stumpen-Herbi", also took part in the race; after all, his father drove to a sensational 2nd place together with Richard Attwood in the John Wyer Porsche 917 in 1971.
What was impressive after the screening, however, was how many of the numerous race fans in attendance confessed to having seen the movie "Le Mans" for the first time! If they had stormed the cinemas back in 1971, who knows, it might have been enough to win an Oscar.
Two Le Mans cars from Porsche can currently be admired at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne and will be on display at the Swiss Classic World classic car fair in Lucerne from May 27 to 29, 2022.
